Hey eveyoneeee. Okay, so I have a confession - this chapter is a LOT shorter than most. I think I have to start posting shorter chapters in order to get them uploaded faster. I think eventually they'll get back to being a bit longer, but for now I had to work with this since my working hours at my new job are so irregular (split shift, anyone?). So hopefully this is like a little transition chapter for you guys, since the story is going to be taking an unexpected turn. muahahaha.

Please review although it's short! It always means a lot :)

-MistroStrings-

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When Mara woke up, her head was pounding. She could feel pain rising where her old wound was, and now her back matched along with it. When she rubbed her fingers against her spine, she could feel a large bump. The memory came flooding back to her.

"That bastard," she grumbled.

Her eyes took in the room around her. It was a cell - a rather nice one at that - with a padded bed and some empty shelves. Are those for decorations? She thought with a dark chuckle. A bright purple light shown down on her as she lifted her head off of the wall. She may have sat there in silence for hours, wondering about Terex's interior design tastes, had it not been for a face peering back at her.

Her door had a small window through it and across the hallway seemed to be an identical room. A woman, or at least what appeared to be a woman, stared back at her. She was leaning against the wall, her body entirely female with an animal head. It reminded Mara of old stories of Chimera from her childhood. She had never seen one in person, and was attempting not to hide her shock as the Tigress glanced back at her.

Terex clearly kept these people as slaves. The woman was well groomed, her body decorated in a tiny red suit and a long, see-through jacket. She was beautiful, and it made Mara curious as to just what her job was.

Turning away, Mara kicked the edge of the bed with a grunt. She should have known to just listen to Poe's words. But what would have happened if Leo and Oddy weren't aware of the battle? He could shoot off into hyperspace and then get struck down immediately by the First Order. Perhaps he wouldn't rush back at all, and would find himself abandoned on Kaddak.

Her thoughts went back to D'Qar. She couldn't believe the thought had slipped her mind for even a second. What had they done with her X-Wing? Had they taken it aboard the Carrion Strike? Would she be able to escape somehow, sneak on her ship, and return to…

Where?

D'Qar was no longer there. Mara was certain of that. The Resistance could have blasted off through lightspeed to any number of planets. They had allies all over the galaxy, and she had to think like Leia if she was going to make it back there.

And yet, Mara was fearful in the pit of her stomach that she could not escape. And truly, what use was she to Terex? A slave? A warrior? Both of them knew that Mara would not bow down to that. She feared in the pit of her stomach that her name had not been forgotten by the First Order, and that when they had kidnapped her parents, they were still on the lookout for her.

These thoughts may have continued, but Mara's attention was grasped by something else further down the hallway. It was the faint sound of a conversation, a singular voice sounding eerily familiar. She shut her eyes to focus on the bits of the conversation she could manage to cling onto.

"…Terex stole her. Made her his slave…"

"…All of us… we're leverage… might be useful…"

Mara sat up straighter. She knew it was likely impossible – no, improbable - but it sounded like the voice of Oddy Muva. She wanted to scream out his name, but risked putting him at danger if he truly was there. Turning her head to glance at the tigress, she noticed the woman was suddenly gone. Mara's brows came together in confusion. When had that happened?

The door was open, which means the woman must have walked out on her own. Mara attempted to tug at the handle of her own door, which was not opening. A sudden, sinking feeling rose in her throat when she heard the sound of footsteps.

"Wait!" Mara shouted, banging her fists against the window. "Let me out! I'm still here!" She continued banging for what felt like minutes, until her fists were too sore. She cursed beneath her breath, running her hand over her sore back once more.

Mara couldn't be sure of how long she waited. She suspected it had been several hours, but with the dark hum of space out of her window, she couldn't be certain. There was no sun or moon to guide her ideas. All she knew was that she was alone, and that whoever had been locked in the cells beside her had abandoned her.

The mechanic had somehow found her way to the bed. The pillow couldn't be soft with her mind racing and pacing with worries of the Resistance. She didn't want to just know what was happening. She couldn't bare it. Instead she wanted to be there, fighting beside everyone. The fact that she was missing that one opportunity seemed like religious blasphemy. There was no doubt in her mind that the First Order would be coming at them with everything they had. Unfortunately, after Starkiller Base, the Resistance had very little to respond with.

Mara's finger traced a crack in the wall as another voice appeared at the end of the hallway.

"Disgusting…" It was a woman. Her accent was different from Mara's, and sounded very much like most of the First Order members. "Clean him up. I want him gone when I'm finished getting the girl."

Mara's body jolted upwards. She was certain it was her that was 'the girl'. Her eyes narrowed onto the door knob as it shook and jolted with a pair of keys, the face appearing behind it was not what Mara had expected.

"Who are you?" Mara said flatly from the bed.

The woman was blonde and slender like a gazelle. Her uniform was as black as empty space, its leather material sticking to her toned figure. Her hair was pinned back into a tight bun, not a single stray wisp in sight. In turn, Mara nervously began to tuck away her own strands behind her ear. Most noticeably, the woman was missing an eye yet this was politely hidden with a modest eyepatch.

And she was smiling. A sincere, genuine smile.

"Nice to finally meet you. You must be Mara Crescent." Her voice melted like honey.

Mara slid further into the corner of the bed. It was the only thing she could do, seeing as Terex had taken her weapons. She felt like one of the alley cats that she had so often tried to coo out of their holes on Coruscant.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the woman continued. "My name is Commander Malarus."

"What have you done with Terex?" Mara tried not to make her question seem like one laced with concern. She did not care much for what happened to the filthy tyrant.

The woman smirked. "That man belongs to the First Order. I required him."

If Mara had been worried about concern towards Terex, she shouldn't have been. Malarus was almost twice as vicious with him, in a far more impressive way.

"What happened to your other friends?" She said with a raise of her brow. "It seems that they forgot about you."

Mara shifted uncomfortably in her bed. If it had been Oddy's voice, he wouldn't have left her. They were likely in a rush. They didn't know she was there. There wasn't time. They had to flee.

She could think of many excuses to protect her heart.

"I don't care much for friends," Mara mumbled, unable to come up with a better response.

The woman laughed again, with a voice reminiscent of a flower. "Please stand up. I won't drag you, but I require you too. If you do this civilly, everything will be much easier for you."

Mara did as she was told, but not without a questioning look. "Where are you taking me? Who requires me?"

The woman's face twitched momentarily, but she retreated back to her usual smile. "That will be decided when we arrive."